To want a white filling for my 8 year old

[innogen75]

Just walked out of the dentist after refusing to put a silver filling in of my 8 year old permanent teeth. It would be pretty visible as it's on the bottom front right hand side.

I feel awful that she needs a filling and her teeth aren't great to start off with but I have certainly tried my best with her dental health over the years. The dentist would barely take no for an answer. He said there were no health issues to be concerned about and that because of her age it just needed to be filled quickly and for that reason he refused to try a composite one.

The thing is he doesn't know if there is a cavity there at all to speak of. He said he wouldn't know until he cleaned it out properly. He was very vague about the x rays and it just left me confused.

I am concerned about health issues regarding silver fillings as we have a lot of autoimmune disorders in my family. I simply don't want to run the risk. Also there is the cosmetic aspect to consider.He said he would refer her to the dental hospital but that they would only do silver too. I'm happy to pay but he insisted it wasn't a cost issue.

He wanted me to get a silver one and then replace it when she was a teenager but to my mind that suggest the cavity is suitable for a white one and it's that he doesn't want the hassle of a white one on a child. Any ideas or suggestions?

Re children at a private practice, they will only see children for free if they have an NHS contract for children. Otherwise, no, you pay their prices.

Unless you have a very generous practice owner whose happy to pay for you children's dentistry out of their own pocket!

Hemlock - I'm with a private Practice, he saw my children as NHS patients when they were of the right age. This only covered basic treatment, however. I had to pay for their teeth to be cleaned annually, and for fissure sealings. A friend went to a different Practice, where her boys' teeth were cleaned at no charge.

Usually, though, you have to pay for what are considered extra treatments, in my experience.

By basic treatments, I mean check-ups and any fillings or extractions if they'd been needed. Daughter had to have a brace, but even though Dentist said she needed one, Orthodontist said she needed it, the NHS had cut dental funding for children and I had to pay £2,400 for it, as she fell marginally outside the new guidelines

My DS hasn't needed scaling but has a quick and gentle polish as standard at the end of his check-ups (private mercury-free practice).

DD had white fillings in baby teeth at around 6. In fact, it was the final straw with our family dentist.
She'd been in pain for a while and he repeatedly refused to fill them stating she'd lose them soon enough anyway. After another night of her crying in pain I took her to another NHS dentist who did the 2 white fillings.
6 months later we went back to original dentist for a check up and I was somewhat stunned that he never asked where 2 fillings had appeared from since he last saw her.

I love our dentist now, she specialises in reconstructive dentistry. Her fillings are works of art. She takes ages to do them but when done they are so good they can't be seen.

My dc have a filling each. I asked for a white one. The dentist looked a bit miffed and asked why so I said, "for aesthetic reasons." He did it, didn't charge me.
I would go to another dentist.

For whoever asked about the dam, I had one for my last filling and it actually isn't too bad, takes a bit of time to have it put in, so it makes the procedure longer but the plus point I found is that I didn't have to hold my mouth open when the work was going on, so it was a bit less stressful (I find dental work very stressful!).

it's unlikely to be medication if they are uniformly yellow.

My dbro's teeth are uniformly yellow. Dentist said it was caused by the antibiotics that he had as a baby.

If they are yellow, there's not much that scaling and polishing can do for them.

Ds1 and I have to have our teeth scaled at most check-ups, though none of my others need it, and dh very rarely. Dentist says that it is nothing to do with our dental hygiene.

This is a picture of tetracycline staining next to yellow teeth. As a comparison.

Siximpossible, very strange. You'd have thought if needing your teeth cleaned was nothing to do with hygiene then the dentist wouldn't be able to clean them either wouldn't you.

My dd had a white filling.

When I last needed one I asked if it could be white. The dentist laughed and said he hasn't done amalgam in years.

I would think it was likely to be a time issue if he had not booked off enough time. I think a composite would take about 45 mins and a silver about twenty minutes. Do you think your daughter would sit for a long period?
I would never want a diver or gold coloured teeth. No thanks!

Our old dentist stopped using amalgam years ago, Dd had a white one put in when she was 6 in a baby tooth that has only just come out at age nearly 10. He also replaced all my old ones with white.
Just find another dentist who does white.

DS cracked a chunk out of a back tooth (karate injury) and I asked for a white filling . It was £45 , when he was 10 (he's nearly 15 now)

TBH , I didn't want a dark grey filling in his mouth, health issues or not.

Another who thinks this is rubbish, go to another Denist.
My dd had white filling last month, no questions asked!

And it was free.

The best dental treatment is prevention. After nearly thirty years in the business I now have no problem with giving parents a hard time regarding the dental care of their children. It is not the fault of the dentist that they have developed cavities. The dentist sees them once every 6 months. They may apply topical fluoride and give advice. But it is the responsibility of the parent to control diet and cleaning.
We are quick to criticise smokers who, when diagnosed with cancer or lung disease refuse to stop smoking, but when I suggest to parents that they need to stop their young children drinking coke and eating refined carbs ( sweets) they are very reluctant to do so.
New NHS guidelines being implemented are focusing on prevention. It is a start but until a parent accepts responsibility for the state of their child's health we will continue to bang our heads against the surgery wall.
I know that there will be plenty of mns who will regale us with stories of how their child was the exception but in reality very few children fall into this group. If your child has cavities before they start school then diet needs investigating. It's not difficult if you don't want them to eat crap don't buy it.

+1

got flamed last time I tried to explain the new NHS model

Totally agree willdoit .Can I ask what you think of the way orthodox treatment is going . I had to bring up my Ds 12 having ortho treatment . It has taken ages to get an initial appointment and we have been warned he might not meet criteria for Nhs work and may have to pay privately I used to work in general dental practice and had my own teeth straightened when I was ten . Seems we are going backwards to me it was much easier to have treatment . Although they did take out two of my perfectly healthy bottom teeth

Another dentist agreeing with willdo

NHS dentistry is being refocused to provide treatment based on clinical need. Very few patients actually clinically need orthodontics. Evidence over the last 3 decades suggests that straightening teeth has very little effect on the long term health of teeth. I have plenty of patients in their 50s and 60s who have moderate to severe crowding but have healthy mouths. Many who had orthodontics as teenagers have had relapse so are not really any better off.
Over treatment in the last 3 decades have meant that we see orthodontics as a necessary treatment. But it really is cosmetic for the vast majority.
My DS is 10 and has lovely straight teeth but due to a skeletal problem is likely to need a substantial amount of orthodontic treatment. If you look at his teeth and score the crowding he would score zero but it is the jaw relationship that necessitates treatment.
Again general dental health is reliant on good diet, excellent home care and the odd bit of extra guidance from a friendly preventative dentist.

Thank you Willdoit that is very helpful and it makes sense to do ortho more for clinical need than just the look of them. I guess we live in a culture lately where we all want perfect teeth. I asked him if he was bothered by his teeth coming through at slightly the wrong angles and he said he was. I think if a child is really self conscious about their teeth there is a need. I was really self conscious wearing my brace and could hardly speak properly so it is not easy. My bottom teeth came over my top so definitely think I needed one and people say I have nice teeth now. We have DS's initial appointment on tuesday so if they say it will be private I will be persuading him against work.

MrsMorton, the dentist can tell whether or not we brush well, and also that two of us brush too vigorously. He said that needing your bottom front teeth scaled was more to do with chemical makeup of your saliva and how it reacts to food, and is probably genetic.

Curiously, since going low-carb two years ago, I have not had to have my teeth scaled for the first time in decades.

We don't smoke, we barely drink alcohol, dh drinks tea and coffee by the bucketful (and has beautiful teeth that rarely needed scaling). The dc have no cavities, dh has 2 and I have fillings and root canals galore.

Six - Re your comment on chemical makeup of saliva - I was also told the same thing for my DS.

Both my children had exactly the same diet and dental hygiene regime when growing up. No fizzy drinks, no sweets, etc. A treat for them was a rice cake or breadstick. I brushed their teeth for them when they were very young, as soon as the first teeth appeared and continued until they were old enough to do it themselves, and then under strict supervision. They had fluoride supplements and vitamin tablets, alongside a very healthy diet.

DD's teeth have been fine (aside from needing a brace). DS needed fillings and an extraction from the age of five. Our dentist said it was the way his saliva was reacting to any food he ate. (She apparently produced a thesis on the subject whilst at University). So it is not unheard of that some tooth problems are beyond our control.

Interesting you mentioned too, about bottom front teeth in particular needing scaling and it being genetic. No matter how hard I've scrubbed over the years (to the point of damaging the gums) I've always been picked up on scale build-up behind my lower front teeth. I can quite well believe that it may be genetic, and possibly DS has inherited his problems from me.

My sister, on the other hand has, from a very young age, scoffed sweets and fizzy drinks 'till she was fit to burst. Yet never has had any dental problems. Puzzling (and unfair)!!!

Wild and other dentists - is potential mental health problems not a clinical need in the face of poor self esteem related to dental health? My dd (8) possibly is the exception as her problems are not caused by poor oral care or diet - she has genuinely only ever had fizzy drinks about 5 times in her life and sweets are mostly restricted to chocolately things.

She has hypoplastic enamel and it looks horrendous. Her adult teeth are about halfway through and very visibly damaged. The enamel is completely missing from the bottom half of each front tooth.

Our previous dentist's attitude was that fillings should not be provided on cosmetic grounds and she jammed some ugly looking yellow stuff on them to protect them from decay. This has since fallen off repeatedly and been refilled 4 times.

Our previous dentist refused to refer her to the hospital, although she will clearly need ongoing treatment and said there was no point until she is 12 (presumably when she has her full set). She didn't hear my concerns about a little girl having to face judgement about her appearance due to a congenital problem, I doubt most people are aware of.

When the last filling fell off, our new dentist tried a different type, which is a much better, more natural looking colour. If you don't know she has a problem is not noticeable and I am much happier that she won't become self conscious. Now I know, I wonder if I can insist on the whiter fillings on future occasions for the sake of her self esteem, which I do consider being a clinical need even if it is just a cosmetic difference?

Sorry this is a bit long. I don't want to hijack the thread, but in response to the OP's query, I am curious as to why better cosmetic fillings are not preferred? Is psychological health not considered to be part of the clinical picture by dentists?